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List of Olympic men's ice hockey players for the United States
Men's ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and permanently added to the Winter Olympic Games in 1924. The United States has participated in 21 of 22 tournaments, sending 42 goaltenders and 271 skaters. For the first two tournaments, the United States sent club amateur teams with additional players from other squads. After sitting out the 1928 tournament, in 1932 they sent a team made up almost entirely of players attending college in the US. The early American teams were successful, winning three silvers and a bronze in the first five tournaments. In 1948, controversy struck when the US sent two teams to the Olympics. Two competing bodies, the American Hockey Association and the Amateur Athletic Union, each claimed that their team had the right to represent the United States. The AAU players were amateur, while the AHA players were professionals. Despite Olympic regulations at the time forbidding professional players, the AAU had been expelled from the International Ice Hockey Federation the year before. As a compromise, the AHA team was permitted to compete, but they would be prohibited from qualifying for a medal.Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #82-USA Sends Two Teams to the 1948 Olympics In 1960, an unheralded American squad defeated the Canadian and Soviet squads on American soil en route to their first Olympic gold medal.Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #16-USA's Original But Unheralded "Miracle on Ice" Unfortunately, the next several years were not successful; when the United States won silver in 1972, it did so from the B Pool, becoming the first B Pool squad to medal in an Olympic tournament.Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #97-B Pool Americans Win Silver in 1972 In 1980, Herb Brooks, the last man cut from the team that won gold in 1960, was named coach, and selected a team of college hockey players. The Americans shocked the world by first upsetting the heavily favored Soviet team 4-3, and then they defeated Finland for the gold medal. The "Miracle on Ice", as the game against the Soviets came to be known, was later named as the greatest moment in international hockey history by the IIHF,Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #1-Miracle on Ice and the story was later turned into two motion pictures, Miracle on Ice and Miracle. The Olympic Games were originally intended for amateur athletes, so the players of the National Hockey League (NHL) and other professional leagues were not allowed to compete. }} Many of Canada's top players were professional, so the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) pushed for the ability to use professional and amateur players. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused, and Canada withdrew from the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in protest.Podnieks & Szemberg 2008, Story #17–Protesting amateur rules, Canada leaves international hockey. In 1986, the IOC voted to allow all athletes to compete in Olympic Games, starting in 1988. The NHL decided not to allow all players to participate in 1988, 1992 or 1994, because doing so would force the league to halt play during the Olympics. An agreement was reached in 1995 that allowed NHL players to compete in the Olympics, starting with the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan. Since that time, the Americans have won two silver medals, losing both times to Canada in the gold medal game in North America (2002 in Salt Lake City and 2010 in Vancouver). National teams are co-ordinated by USA Hockey and players are chosen by the team's management staff. The United States has won two gold medals, eight silver medals and one bronze medal in men's ice hockey; the Americans have won more silver medals than any other nation. Two players have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, seven into the IIHF Hall of Fame and forty-five individuals into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. In addition, two teams have been inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame: the gold medal winning 1960 and 1980 teams. Two players—Chris Chelios and Keith Tkachuk—have played on four teams. According to the IOC database, 176 men have won medals; ten players—Bill Cleary, Chris Drury, Herbert Drury, John Garrison, John Mayasich, Dick Meredith, Weldon Olson, Brian Rafalski, Richard Rodenheiser, and Frank Synott—have won two medals. Keith Tkachuk holds the record for most games played, having dressed for 23 games in 1992, 1998, 2002, and 2006. Herbert Drury leads American Olympians in goals, having scored 33 goals in 1920 and 1924 (before assists were counted); Bruce Cunliffe scored 23 points (17 goals and 6 assists) in 1948, and Bill Christian recorded 12 assists in 1960 and 1964. Key Goaltenders Reserve goaltenders These goaltenders were named to the Olympic roster, but did not receive any ice time during games. Skaters See also * List of United States national ice hockey team rosters * List of Olympic women's ice hockey players for the United States Notes Olympic * Category:Olympic Games